Combined sewing machine throat plate and seam guide



April 26, 1966 J. FORCA 3,247,819

COMBINED SEWING MACHINE THROAT PLATE AND SEAM GUIDE Filed Sept. 5, 19652 Sheets-Sheet l 5' 2; E: 2 I 144/ 0.74 O 45 l 44 a i T 4? f? 34% 4 46 MINVENTOR.

April 26, 1966 F RCA 3,247,819

COMBINED SEWING MACHINE THROAT PLATE AND SEAM GUIDE Filed Sept. 5, 19652 Sheets-Sheet 2 )44 F I I 2 INVENTOR.

J4 ME 5 FO/QCA BY Mi ATTUENE:

"between the stitch line and the edge of the fabric.

United States Patent Office 3,247,819 CUMBINED SEWING MACHINE THROATPLATE AND SEAM GUIDE James Forca, 81-29 165th St, Jamaica 32, N.Y. FiledSept. 5, 1963, Ser. No. 306,819 4 Claims. (Cl. 112-260) The presentinvention relates generally to sewing machines and specifically to acombined throat plate and seam guide for use on conventional sewingmachines for providing a physical edge guide at various distances fromthe stitch line to guide work material through the sewing machine atselected seam widths. In both commercial and home use, it is customaryfor sewing machine operators, when joining two pieces of material alonga seam line, to govern the width of the seam by maintaining, by eye, theamount of material Many operators have found it convenient to secure apiece of tape to the throat plate of their sewing machines to give avisual guide with which to align the edge of the fabric in order to maketheir seam widths as uniform as possible. Therefore, there exists a needfor a device which will automatically provide a guide, at selectedlocations spaced from the stitch line of the sewing machine, to guidework material through the sewing machine for the production of uniformseams.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a seamwidth guide for a sewing machine. More specifically, it is an object ofthe present invention to provide a combined throat plate and seam widthguide for incorporation into standard sewing machines.

It is still further within the contemplation of the present invention toprovide within a throat guide a plurality of pivotally mounted materialguiding members which may be moved from an inoperative position flushwith the surface of a sewing machine work table to an operative positionextending upwardly from that work surface and oriented parallel to thestitch line of the sewing machine in order to provide a physical guidefor producing uniform seam widths of a variety of different widths.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a combinedthroat plate and seam width guide for guiding material through aconventional sewing machine. The throat plate comprises a fiat bodyhaving a planar upper work surface and which is shaped to be receivedwithin a standard throat plate opening of a sewing machine. The standardneedle-receiving opening and feed dog openings are for-med in the throatplate along the feed path. The throat plate is provided with a pluralityof material guiding members which are mounted on the throat plateparallel to and spaced various distances from feed path. Each of thematerial guiding members have at least one planar face for usealternatively as a portion of the work surface of the throat plate or asthe guiding face of the material guiding members. The material guidemembers are mounted for pivotal movement between an inactive positionwherein the planar face is coplanar with the work surface of the throatplate and a material guiding position 90 from the inactive positionwherein the planar face is perpendicular to the work surface of thethroat body and parallel to the feed path. Spring means are operativelyinterconnected between the material guiding members and the throat platebody to maintain thematerial guiding members in either their active orinactive positions such that one of the material guiding members,corresponding to the desired seam width, may be snapped from itsinactive to its active position for guiding a particular seam and maythen be snapped int-o its inactive position flush with the surface ofthe throat plate.

3,247,819 Patented Apr. 26, 1956 The above brief description, as well asfurther objects, features and advantages-0f the present invention willbe best understood by reference to the following detailed description ofone presently preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of a sewing machine incorporating adevice according to the present invention taken along a sectionperpendicular to a feed path and looking from the rear toward the frontof the machine and showing the relationship of the material guidingmember to a piece of material, the presser foot and the feed dog;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a combined throat plate and material feed guideaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the device shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of FIG. 2 lookingin the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view along the line 5-5 of FIG. 2 and looking inthe direction of the arrows;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 66 of FIG. 2 looking inthe direction of the arrows with the end member of the throat plate inits raised, material guiding position;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 6 andlooking in the direction of the arrows illustrating the spring clampmember for the end member;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a further embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the device shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 10-10 of FIG.8 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 11--11 ofFIG. 8 and looking in the direction of the arrows;.and

FIG. 12 is a plan view of another possible further variation in designof the material guide members which may be incorporated in the combinedthroat plate and seam guide according to the present invention.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1,the environment of the present invention is a standard sewing machinewhich includes a top working surface 10, a conventional feed dog 12, apresser foot 14 and presser foot bar 16 and a bobbin- 1 access slideplate 18. Received within the conventional,

generally circular shaped throat plate opening is a combined throatplate and seam width guide 20 according to the present invention. Thedevice 20 includes a flat body 22 shaped to be received in theconventional throat plate opening and a number of material guidingmembers, only one of which is visible in FIG. 1 which is generallydesignated in FIG. 1 by. the letter M. The member M is positionedparallel to the stitching line and spaced therefrom. A piece of fabricor work material, designated by the numeral W is positioned beneath thepresser foot 14 and above the throat plate 20 and positioned to beengaged by the feed dog 12 in the conventional manner. The inner edge ofthe work material W is advantageously guided by the material guidingmember M such that the width of the seam produced in the sewing machineremains constant. As will be described in greater detail below, thecombined throat plate and seam guiding means according to the persentinvention provides a plurality of material guiding members M, atselected distances from the sewing machine needle and the sewing machinestitch line, such that the sewing machine operator may select one of thematerial guiding members to produce a seam of a selected width.

The throat plate and material guiding device 20 according to the presentinvention is best seen in the remaining figures in the drawings. Asseen, the body 22 is aflat metal member with an appropriate externalcurve to exactly fit within the throat plate opening formed in the topsurface of the bed of the sewing machine. A pair of countersunk screwopenings 24, 26 are provided at the conventional location for securementof the device to the sewing machine. In addition, a needle opening 28and feed dog openings 30 are formed within the body 22 at theconventional locations. Normally the portion of the throat plate betweenscrew openings 24, 26 and the feed dog openings 30 is a flat and solidsheet of metal. According to the present invention, there is provided aplurality of material guiding members which are selectively movable froman inactive position flush with the top of the throat plate body 22 to aposition extending up and perpendicular to the top work surface of thethroat plate. In the present illustrative embodiment there are fourindividual material guiding members labeled 32, 34, 36 and 38 positionedat increasing distances from the stitch line and parallel thereto.Material guiding members 32, 34 and 36 are of one type. The first typewill be described prior to the description of the second type.

Each of the material guiding members 32, 34, 36 are identical andtherefore description will be made of only one such member. Materialguiding member 34 is a generally flat sheet of metal with a pair ofright angle ears 34a, 34b at opposite ends resulting in a flattened,U-shaped configuration. An aligned opening is provided in each of theears 34a, 34b and a pivot pin 44 is passed through those openings tomount the material guiding member 34- for pivotal motion about the pin44. The pin 44 is in turn mounted between a pair of mounting channels46, 48 whose upper surfaces are coplanar with the upper surfaces of thebody 22 of throat plate 20 and which are provided with shoulder portions46a, 48a which engage the lower inside edges of a rectangular cutoutformed within the body 22 between the two screw openings 24, 26. As maybe seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, each of the material guiding members 32, 34,36 are mounted within the body 22 in identical manners with pivot pins44 positioning the material guiding members for pivotal motion withinthe mounting channels 46, 48.

A generally wing-shaped leaf spring 50 is secured to the underside ofthe throat plate body 22 in such a mannor that it engages the end ears32a, 32b, 34a, 34b, 36a, 36b of the material guiding members 32, 34, 36to maintain the respective members in either their inactive positions ortheir active material guiding positions. Specifically, the materialguiding members 32, 34, 36 (in FIGS. 2 and 4) and the active materialguiding position (member 34 in those figures). As explained above, withthe device in the position as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the operatorwill be able to form a guided seam of a width equal to the distancebetween the needle-receiving opening 28 and the top fiat face of thematerial guiding member 34. If a larger seam is desired, member 34 canbe folded down and member 36 can be folded up. Conversely, the operatormay choose a narrower seam and therefore would utilize the guidingfunctions of the material guiding member 32. The leaf spring 50 ismounted by means of a pair of spacer bars 51, 52 and a pair of springmounts 54, 56. The spring mounts 54, 56 are held to the body 22 of thethroat plate 20 by conventional means such as the screws 58 illustratedin the drawings. These screws also serve to secure and fasten themounting channels 46, 48 to the body 22. It will be readily appreciatedthat as one of the material guiding members turned from one position toanother, the lower inside corner of the member will cause thewing-shaped spring 50 to be displaced and that the minimum displacementfor the spring 50 is when the members are in either of theirperpendicular positions. Thus the spring serves to secure those membersin either one of their two defined positions.

In addition to the three material guiding members 32, 34, 36 describedabove, there is a further material guiding member 38 mounted formovement between an inactive position flush with the top surface of thethroat plate body 22 and an active position 90 therefrom for guidingmaterial through the sewing machine when a larger seam is desired.Because there is insufficient room at the outside end of the throatplate body 22 for the spring retaining and mounting means as describedabove, other means are provided to maintain the furthermost materialguiding member 38 in either its active or inactive position.Specifically, a pivot pin 44, similar to the other pivot pins 44,pivotally mounts the solid material guiding member 33 and is, in turn,secured within the mounting channels 46, 48. Shoulder cutouts 60, 62 areformed in each of the inside corners of the material guiding member 38.Within the larger shoulder 62 of the two shoulders, there is mounted acoil spring secured at one end to the mounting channel 48 and engaged atthe other end with the body of the member 38. The function of the coilspring 64 is to urge the member 38 into clockwise rotation as seen inFIG. 4 thereby to normally keep the member with its top surface coplanarwith the upper surface of the throat body 22. The other and smallershoulder cutout 60 is of a size which exactly complements to the squarecorner of the mounting channel 46 such that upon rotation of thematerial guiding member 38 in a counterclockwise direction, against thebias force of spring 64, the entire member 38 will be shifted along thepivot pin 44 such that the inside of the shoulder 69 engages the topsurface of the mounting channel 46. By this engagement the materialguiding member 38 is locked into its upright, material guiding position.When the operator desires to lower the material guiding member 38, thebody of the member is moved along the pivot pin 44 compressing thespring 64 and when the side of the shoulder 60 passes over the corner ofthe mounting channel 46, the material guiding member 38 will be biaseddown into its retracted position. The structure and function of thisoperation will be best appreciated by making reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.It is possible to form each of the material guiding members with springmeans of the type shown connected to member 38 or, for that matter, itis possible to employ the invention by using other forms of springmeans.

Each of the material guiding members 32, 34, 36, 38 are provided withappropriate fingernail cutouts (unnumbered) such that the devices may beeasily grasped andmoved from their inactive to their active positions.

It should be appreciated that although the combined throat plate andmaterial guide described above and illustrated in FIGS. 17 shows threesheet metal material guiding members and one solid material guidingmember, the invention contemplates any variety of such members mountedfor movement between a position fiush with the top of the throat plateand a position extending upwardly from the throat plate to act in amaterial guiding capacity.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 8 through 11 for a description of afurther combined sewing machine throat plate and seam guide, generallydesignated by the numeral 120, which differs in some design respectsfrom the device 20 illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 7 above. For the sakeof clarity, parts of the device 120 which are similar to thecorresponding parts in the device 20 will be designated by similarnumerals in the series rather than the 10 series. Specifically, thethroat plate and seam guide includes a generally flat body 122 of ashape such that it may be received within the conventional throat plateopening of a sewing machine. A pair of countersunk screw openings 124,126 are provided at the conventional locations for securement of thedevice to the sewing machine. Further, a needle opening 128 and feed dogopenings 130 are formed in the body 122 to provide access for theconventional reciprocating needle and feed dog mechanisms. 7

In accordance with the present invention, the throat plate 120 isprovided with a plurality of material guide members 132, 134, 136 and138 which are mounted within the body 122 of the device for movementbetween an inactive position wherein the material guide members areflush with the planar upper work surface of the body 122 and an activeposition wherein one face of the individual guide members is positionedabove and perpendicular to the work surface of the throat plate andparallel to the feed path of the sewing machine to provide a physicalguide at a selected distance from the needle opening 128.

The material guide members 132, 134 and 136 are identical, andtherefore, the construction and mounting of only one of those memberswill be described. The material guide member .134 is mounted for pivotalmotion to the body 122 of the combined throat plate and seam guide 120by means of a pivot pin 144 which is secured to the body 122 at a pairof mounting channels 146, 148 (see FIG. 11) which in turn are secured tothe body 122 by appropriate screws 158 or other securement means. Theguide member 134 is pivotally mounted on the pin 144 by a pair ofextending solid ears 134a, 1341; which are provided with appropriatealigned pin-receiving openings. It will thus be appreciated that theguide member 134 may be pivoted from an inactive poistion wherein itsupper flat face is coplanar with the upper work surface of the body 122of the throat plate device 12%) (as for example the position of guidemembers 132 and 136 illustrated in FIGS. 8 and and an active positionwherein that flat face extends upwardly from the top planar face of thebody 122 and is perpendicularthereto and aligned in parallel orientationto the feed path (as for example the position of the guide member 134 inFIGS. 8 and 10). The guide member 134 is provided with two independentlyacting means to maintain the member in its active position. The firstmeans comprises a sheet metal spring, best seen in FIGS. 9 and 11, whichis generally designated by the numeral 58. The spring 50 is securedbeneath the body 122 of the throat plate by means of the screws 158 onthe mounting channel 48 and is oriented and secured by appropriatespacer elements 151, 152. The spring 151) is divided by the slots 154,156 into three leaf sections 158a, 1501) and 1500 which underlie thematerial guide members 132, 134 and 136 respectively. As may be seen inFIG. 11, the leaf sections are of generally S-shaped configuration andare oriented such that the outermost portion of each leaf sectionengages the adjacent material guide member at its extend-ing ears, e.g.,ear 134a. The spring section 1581) tends to hold the respective guidemember 134:: in its active position since the corner of the extendingportion 134a elastically deforms the spring section 15% as the member134 is pivoted into its inactive position. Similarly, when the guidemember 134 is in its inactive position, as shown for the guide member132 in FIG. 10, the spring section 1501: would tend to hold it in thatinactive position against pivotal motion about the pin 144 since suchpivotal motion would require the elastic defamation of the springsection 1511b. Thus, the spring 150 biases the guide members to remainin either the active or inactive positions. In addition to this biasforce exerted upon the material guide member 134, a coil spring 164 isengaged about the pin 144 and between a collar 166 fixed to the pin andthe inside face of the extending 134 is swung upwardly from its inactiveto its active position, the outer edge of the inclined shoulder 168 willbe lifted above the edge of the mounting channel 146 and the coil spring164 will then urge the member 134 toward the left (as viewed in FIG. 11)such that the inclined shoulder 168 will be tightly engaged against theedge of the mounting channel 146. The interaction of the inclinedshoulder 168 and the edge of the mounting channel 146 will provide apositive block against pivotal movement of the member 134 from theactive position to its inactive position. When it is desired to returnthe material guide member 134 to its inactive position, the operatorfirst moves the member against the bias force of the spring 164 towardthe collar 166 such as to disengage the inclined shoulder 168 from theedge of the mounting channel 146, and, thereafter, the operator pivotsthe member 134 downwardly into its inactive position. As

' recited, the construction and operation of the material guide members132 and 136 are identical with that described above for the materialguide member 134.

The end material guide member 138 differs from the guide members 132,134, 136 in that one edge of the guide member 138 is formed with thearcuate curve of the standard throat plate configuration and furtherdiffers from the other material guide members in the device 120 in thatthe leaf spring 158 is not employed as a biasing means. Stillfurthermore, the guide member 138 differs from the other guide membersin that a coil spring 170 is mounted about the pin 144 between themounting channel 148 and the depending ear 1381) rather than between acollar, such as the collar 166, and the extending car 1381). Thematerial guide member 138 is similar to the material guide members 132,134, 136 in the im portant respect that an inclined shoulder 168 isformed at the edge of the member adjacent the extending ear 131% forengagement with the edge of the mounting channel 146 to secure thematerial guide member 138 against movement from its raised activeposition to its inactive position.

In FIG. 12 there is illustrated a still further construction which maybe utilized for the material guide members in a combined throat plateand seam guide in accordance with the present invention. Specifically,there is shown a material guide member, generally designated by thenumeral 232, which is constructed of a solid piece of material, such assteel, plastic, etc. and which is provided with a pair of protrudingpivotal mounts 244. In practice, the pivotal mounts 244 may comprise apin such as the pins 44, 144 described above, which, in turn, may bepivotally mounted within the body of a combined throat plate accordingto the present invention and oriented parallel to the feed path of thesewing machine. The external shape of the material guide member 232 isshown as adapted for the outermost guide member in a complete combinedthroat plate and seam guide device,

. however, it will be appreciated that by elimination of car 1341;. Thespring 164 is under compression between the arcuate shape andreplacement therewith by a straight outer edge, the member 232 will beadapted for use in a manner similar to the members 32, 34, 36 in FIGS. 2through 5. The biasing means which would be used in conjunction with thematerial guide member 232, would be similar to the spring 50 illustratedin FIGS. 2,through 5, the spring 150 illustrated in FIGS. 8 through 11or any other similar spring which is engaged with the member 232 at apoint below the surface of the completed throat plate and seam guideunit.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the present inventionprovides a simple, convenient and an inexpensive device for use withconventional sewing machines whereby an operator may select any one ofseveral material guide members to aid in the formation of seams ofselected widths. Specifically, by the simple movement of a selected oneof the provided material guide members from its inactive position to itsactive position, the operator may provide a positive physical guideparallel to the stitch line of the sewing machine to guide fabricthrough the sewing machine and to produce a seam of selected andconsistent width. Due to the concept of the invention wherein a materialguide member is movable from an inactive position in which it does notextend above the planar surface of the throat plate to an activeposition wherein its seam guiding functions are provided, a combinedthroat plate and seam guide according to the invention may beincorporated in a sewing machine and may be used alternatively andeasily as a conventional throat plate with no interference, or as a seamguiding element in the manner described.

Although the foregoing has been a description of selected presentlypreferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be realized thata number of design changes may be made in the specific deviceillustrated without departing from the teachings of the invention.Accordingly, it is possible to construct combined throat plate and seamguiding devices which, although not identical replicas of materialillustrated in the drawings, nevertheless incorporate the substance ofthe invention. Therefore, the following claims should be construedbroadly in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of theinvention.

The present invention provides a simple, convenient and inexpensivedevice for use with conventional sewing machines whereby an operator mayselect any one of several material guiding members to aid in theformation of seams of a selected width. On the other hand, theconstruction of this throat plate is such that it does not interferewith any normal operation of a sewing machine if it is desired not touse the material guiding features of the throat plate.

The foregoing has been a description of just one illustrative embodimentof the present invention. Other embodiments departing in varying degreesfrom the exact device illustrated in the drawings described herein, maybe constructed which nevertheless incorporate the substance of theinvention. Therefore, the following claims should be construed broadlyin a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A combined throat plate and seam width guide for a standard sewingmachine comprising a flat body having a planar upper work surface andShaped to be received within the throat plate opening of said sewingmachine, said body having formed therein a needle-receiving openingalong the feed path of the sewing machine and a plurality of feed dogopenings, material guide members each of which has a planar face, saidfiat body being cut out to receive said material guide members with saidplanar faces of said material guide members co-planar with the worksurface of said flat body, at least one of said material guide membersformed of a generally rectangular piece of sheet metal and having a pairof right angled.

ears at opposite ends, a pair of aligned pin-receiving openings formedin said cars, a pivot pin within said pin-receiving openings and securedto said flat body mounting said material guide member for pivotalmovement between an inactive position wherein the planar face isco-planar with work surface of the fiat body and an active, seam guidingposition wherein said planar face is perpendicular to said work surfaceand parallel to the sewing machine feed path, a leaf spring secured onthe underside of said fiat body below said one material guide member andpositioned for engagement with said pair of ears for deflection as saidmaterial guide member is moved from one of said positions to the other.

2. A combined throat plate and seam width guide for a standard sewingmachine comprising a fiat body having a planar upper work surface andshaped to be received within the throat plate opening of said sewingmachine, said body having formed therein a needle-receiving openingalong the feed path of the sewing machine and a plurality of feed dogopenings, material guide members each of which has a planar face, saidflat body being cut out to receive said material guide members with saidplanar faces of said material guide members co-planar with the worksurface of said flat body, at least one of said material guide membersformed of a solid piece of metal having a pivot pin opening formedparallel to one edge, a pivot pin received within said opening andsecured to said fiat body mounting said material guide member forpivotal movement between an inactive position wherein the planar face isco-planar with work surface of the flat body and an active, seam guidingposition wherein said planar face is perpendicular to said work surfaceand parallel to the sewing machine feed path, a locking shoulder formedin one corner of said material guide member to mate with the edge of thework surface of said flat body when said material guide member is in itsactive position, and a spring biasing said material guide member intosaid inactive position, said material guide member being locked in saidactive position against the bias of said spring by engagement of saidlocking shoulder with said work surface and being held in said inactiveposition by said spring.

3. A combined throat plate and seam width guide for a standard sewingmachine comprising a fiat body having a planar upper work surface andshaped to be received Within the throat plate opening of said sewingmachine, said body having formed therein a needle-receiving openingalong the feed path of the sewing machine and a plurality of feed dogopenings, material guide members each of which has a planar face, saidfiat body being cut out to receive said material guide members with saidplanar faces of said material guide members co-planar with the worksurface of said flat body, at least one of said material guide membersformed of a generally rectangular piece of sheet metal and having a pairof right angled ears at opposite ends, a pair of aligned pinreceivingopenings formed in said ears, a pivot pin within said pin-receivingopenings and secured to said fiat body mounting said material guidemember for pivotal move ment between an inactive position wherein theplanar face is co-planar with work surface of the flat body and anactive, seam guiding position wherein said planar face is perpendicularto said work surface and parallel to the sewing machine feed path, aleaf spring secured on the underside of said flat body below said onematerial guide member and positioned for engagement with said pair ofears for deflection as said material guide member is moved from one ofsaid positions to the other, another one of said material guide membersbeing formed of a solid piece of metal having a pivot pin opening formedadjacent and parallel to one edge, a pivot pin received within saidopening and secured to said flat body mounting said other one of saidmaterial guide members for pivotal movement between an active andinactive position as defined, a locking shoulder formed in one corner ofsaid other material guide member to mate with the edge of the worksurface of said fiat body when said member is in its active position,and a spring biasing said other material guide member into said inactiveposition, said other material guide member being locked in said activeposition against the bias of said spring by engagement of said lockingshoulder with said work surface and being held in said inactive positionby said spring.

4. A combined throat plate and seam width guide for guiding workmaterial through a sewing machine comprising a fiat body having a planarupper work surface and shaped to be received within the throat plateopening of a standard sewing machine, a needle-receiving opening and afeed dog opening formed in said throat plate along the feed path of thesewing machine, a plurality of material guiding members each having oneplanar face, means mounting said respective material guide members formovement between an inactive position wherein said material guidemembers are below the work surface of said throat plate body and amaterial guiding position wherein said planar faces are above andperpendicular to the work surface of said throat plate body and parallelto said feed path, said guiding members each forming an abutment when insaid material guiding position parallel to said feed path for guidingthe edge of work material through said machine at a fixed distance fromsaid feed path, and spring means operatively connected between saidthroat plate body and said material guiding members for selectivelyretaining said material guiding members in said inactive and saidmaterial guiding positions.

146,292 1/1874 Taylor l4368.1

Dormandy 112-15] Gatchell 112136 Bielaski 143-168.1 Overman et a1.112153 X FRANK J. COHEN, Primary Examiner.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, G. H. KRIZMANICH,

Assistant Examiners.

1. A COMBINED THROAT PLATE AND SEAM WIDTH GUIDE FOR A STANDARD SEWINGMACHINE COMPRISING A FLAT BODY HAVING A PLANAR UPPER WORK SURFACE ANDSHAPED TO BE RECEIVED WITHIN THE THROAT PLATE OPENING OF SAID SEWINGMACHINE, SAID BODY HAVING FORMED THEREIN A NEEDLE-RECEIVING OPENINGALONG THE FEED PATH OF THE SEWING MACHINE AND A PLURALITY OF FEED DOGOPENINGS, MATERIAL GUIDE MEMBERS EACH OF WHICH HAS A PLANAR FACE, SAIDFLAT BODY BEING CUT OUT TO RECEIVE SAID MATERIAL GUIDE MEMBERS WITH SAIDPLANAR FACES OF SAID MATERIAL GUIDE MEMBERS CO-PLANAR WITH THE WORKSURFACE OF SAID FLAT BODY, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID MATERIAL GUIDE MEMBERSFORMED OF A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR PIECE OF SHEET METAL AND HAVING A PAIROF RIGHT ANGLED EARS AT OPPOSITE ENDS, A PAIR OF ALIGNED PIN-RECEIVINGOPENINGS FORMED IN SAID EARS, A PIVOT PIN WITHIN SAID PIN-RECEIVINGOPENINGS AND SECURED TO SAID FLAT BODY MOUNTING SAID MATERIAL GUIDEMEMBER FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT BETWEEN AN INACTIVE POSITION WHEREIN THEPLANAR FACE IS CO-PLANAR WITH WORK SURFACE OF THE FLAT BODY AND ANACTIVE, SEAM GUIDING POSITION WHEREIN SAID PLANAR FACE IS PERPENDICULARTO SAID WORK SURFACE AND PARALLEL TO THE SEWING MACHINE FEED PATH, ALEAF SPRING SECURED ON THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID FLAT BODY BELOW SAID ONEMATERIAL GUIDE MEMBER AND POSITIONED FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID PAIR OFEARS FOR DEFLECTION AS SAID MATERIAL GUIDE MEMBER IS MOVED FROM ONE OFSAID POSITIONS TO THE OTHER.